Air Midwest

Air Midwest, Inc.
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Airline
Predecessor	Aviation Services Inc
Founded	May 7, 1965; 61 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, United States
Founder	Gary Adamson
Defunct	June 30, 2008
Fate	Ceased operations
Successor	None
Headquarters	Wichita, United States
Area served	Regional United States (Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Arizona and others)
Key people	Jonathan G. Ornstein (Mesa CEO at closure)
Products	Regional airline services, feeder flights for major airlines (Eastern Air Lines, American Airlines, Trans World Airlines, US Airways)
Owner	Mesa Air Group (from 1991)
Number of employees	Unknown
Parent	Mesa Air Group

Air Midwest, Inc. was an air carrier certified under Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 regulations, with its headquarters located in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Established on May 7, 1965, by entrepreneur Gary Adamson initially as Aviation Services Inc, the company began by offering charter and scheduled flights within Kansas. Starting in 1991, Air Midwest operated as a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, providing feeder services through codeshare agreements for prominent airlines such as Eastern Air Lines (Eastern Air Midwest Express), American Airlines (American Eagle), Trans World Airlines (Trans World Express), and US Airways (US Airways Express). The airline discontinued operations in June 2008 while under Mesa's ownership.

History

Founded in Wichita by Gary Adamson, Aviation Services launched with a single Cessna 206 aircraft primarily used to transport human remains before initiating scheduled service between Wichita and Salina in 1967. After Frontier Airlines reduced its presence in western Kansas beginning in 1968, the company rebranded as Air Midwest in 1969 and expanded its fleet by acquiring Beechcraft Model 99 turboprop aircraft. By the late 1970s, the airline operated Swearingen Metroliner propjets linking smaller cities across Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado.

Following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Air Midwest expanded its network into New Mexico and Texas through partnerships with Braniff Airways. This expansion introduced new destinations such as Albuquerque, Lubbock, and Oklahoma City while increasing its operations at Kansas City International Airport. However, competitive pressure from Mesa Airlines in the mid-1980s led Air Midwest to withdraw from New Mexico and Texas markets to concentrate on establishing key codeshare agreements.

In 1985, Air Midwest merged with Scheduled Skyways based in Fayetteville to pursue a codeshare arrangement with Republic Airlines at Memphis; however, this partnership did not materialize. The merger adversely affected financial performance due to maintenance challenges with the acquired aircraft fleet. That same year, Air Midwest incorporated the 30-seat Saab 340 turboprop into its fleet to complement existing Metroliner aircraft.

Despite these difficulties, the airline secured codeshare agreements with Eastern Airlines (Eastern Air Midwest Express) and Ozark Air Lines (Ozark Midwest) at St. Louis, along with American Airlines' Nashville hub under the American Eagle brand. Financial constraints necessitated selling its Nashville hub operations and Saab 340 aircraft to American Airlines in 1987. Following TWA’s acquisition of Ozark in 1986, Air Midwest adjusted its St. Louis routes due to overlapping codeshare partnerships.

By the late 1980s, Air Midwest provided extensive Trans World Express service from St. Louis utilizing Jetstream 31s, Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias, Metroliners, and Saab 340s. The carrier also developed a significant hub at Kansas City operating initially as Eastern Express before transitioning to Braniff Express and subsequently USAir Express after Braniff’s bankruptcy. With USAir’s rebranding to US Airways in 1997, Air Midwest continued feeding their Kansas City hub until its closure in 2008.

Mesa Airlines completed acquisition of Air Midwest in 1991 after initial efforts starting in 1989. Following the takeover, Mesa replaced the Metroliner fleet with Beechcraft 1900D aircraft and consolidated operations at Albuquerque and Phoenix hubs under the Air Midwest certificate by 2001.

A detailed account of the airline’s early development is available in "Pioneer of the Third Level" authored by Dr. Imre E. Quastler.

Operations under Mesa Air Group

In 1991, Mesa Air Group took ownership of Air Midwest. Between 1991 and 1997, Air Midwest operated a fleet of twelve Beechcraft 1900C commuter turboprops based at its Kansas City hub, flying as USAir Express. In 1997, Mesa restructured its operations by consolidating the FloridaGulf, Liberty Express, and Independent divisions of Mesa Airlines into Air Midwest.

Air Midwest provided service to smaller communities through the Essential Air Service program and operated America West Express flights out of Phoenix and Las Vegas under a partnership with America West Airlines. Additionally, it conducted independent operations branded as Mesa Airlines from hubs in Albuquerque, Chicago, and Dallas/Fort Worth. Following the 2007 merger of America West and US Airways, routes previously flown as America West Express were reassigned to US Airways Express. Air Midwest continued US Airways Express services at key hubs including Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, along with smaller scale operations in Omaha, Little Rock, and New Orleans.

On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest suffered its first fatal accident when Flight 5481 crashed shortly after departing Charlotte, resulting in the loss of all passengers and crew on board.

In August 2006, Air Midwest temporarily operated as Delta Connection, flying three Beechcraft 1900D aircraft between JFK and Providence/Windsor Locks. This service acted as an interim replacement for Freedom Airlines until Chautauqua Airlines assumed the route.

Beginning February 1, 2007, Air Midwest initiated service from Chicago Midway to Decatur, Marion, and Quincy in Illinois but discontinued all operations within Illinois by November 9 of the same year.

In May 2007, Air Midwest sought FAA approval to cease service at Vernal, Utah. By October 2007, Great Lakes Airlines succeeded Air Midwest as the Essential Air Service provider at Vernal and Moab airports, while SkyWest Airlines took over routes serving Cedar City.

In January 2008, Mesa CEO Jonathan G. Ornstein revealed plans to discontinue Air Midwest due to substantial financial losses caused by escalating maintenance and fuel expenses. Notices of termination were issued for all markets except Prescott and Kingman, Arizona. The subsidiary officially ceased operations on June 30, 2008. At closure, the fleet had diminished to 20 aircraft from its historical peak of 118.

The final scheduled Air Midwest flights—Numbers 4679 and 4681—departed Kansas City International Airport on June 30, 2008, bound for Joplin and Columbia in Missouri.

MesaMax

MesaMax was a frequent flyer program specifically for Mesa Airlines flights operated by Air Midwest. Passengers earned stamps on a card for each flight segment; collecting sixteen stamps allowed redemption for a round-trip ticket on Mesa Airlines.

Fleet

In 1979, the Air Midwest fleet consisted of:

Five Swearingen Metroliner II aircraft
One Cessna 206

By the years 1987-88, the fleet had grown to include:

Four Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia planes
Five Saab 340 aircraft
Fifty-one Swearingen Metroliner II planes

As of February 2008, the operational fleet included:

**Air Midwest Fleet**
Aircraft	Quantity	Seating Capacity	Service Routes
Beechcraft 1900D	11	19	All routes

Other types previously flown were Beechcraft 99, Beechcraft 1900C, BAe Jetstream 31, and Cessna 402 models. The fleet primarily featured twin-engine turboprop aircraft tailored for regional commuter services.

1970

During 1970, Air Midwest concentrated its services on major markets mainly within Kansas and surrounding states. The airline operated out of Wichita, which served as both its central hub and headquarters, while Kansas City functioned as a significant focus city.

1979–1985

From 1979 until early 1985, prior to its merger with Skyways, Air Midwest utilized Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets to serve a broader route network. This network featured Albuquerque and Denver as focus cities, with Kansas City International Airport acting as the primary hub. The airline connected a wide range of regional destinations across states including Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado.

In 1984, the carrier briefly operated routes linking St. Louis Downtown Airport to Chicago Midway and Olathe, Kansas (via Johnson County Industrial Airport), as well as service to Kansas City Downtown Airport.

Incidents and accidents

On May 24, 1984, Air Midwest Flight 513, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner SA-226AC Metro II, executed a belly landing at Albuquerque when the right main landing gear failed to engage properly. All 17 passengers and crew evacuated without injury.
On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481, a Beechcraft 1900D flying under the US Airways Express banner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, resulting in the loss of all 21 individuals onboard.

References

External links

Mesa Air Group